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“Hinata, we’ll be late for class!” Yamaguchi yells after him when Hinata goes sprinting off down the hallway. “You can’t keep doing this every day!”
“Yes I can!” he calls back with a grin. “Go on without me: I need to check the message board!”
It’s become a habit of his: checking the message board, that is. Their school uses it for daily announcements, flyers for dances, and other official business. Nobody really looks at it—but to Hinata, it’s something special. It all started because he has the confidence of a corn chip and couldn’t bring himself to talk to his long-time crush: the school volleyball team captain, Kageyama Tobio.
He’s tall and gorgeous and well-put-together and… basically just everything Hinata isn’t. To make matters worse, Kageyama also has absolutely no idea that he exists.
The first time Hinata posted on the message board, it was out of blatant desperation. He never expected anything to come of it—and he certainly never guessed that he’d get a reply. His note had said nothing more than: ‘so hey Kageyama, you’ll never read this but i probably maybe am definitely in love with you? i mean yeah, i think ily?? um wow, ily???’ He hadn’t even signed the informal ramble, but the note was gone when he checked later that day; and amazingly, there was a reply the next morning: ‘who ARE you?’
From then on, they had a back-and-forth conversation, all in scribbled notes. Hinata has yet to sign his name, but he knows he’ll build the courage up… eventually. Until then, their brief exchanges are nice—like today’s. They’ve been talking about their favorite movies, and Hinata’s top pick is immediately disputed by Kageyama.
‘of course a dumbass like you would pick something childish like Totoro,’ he writes. ‘the best movie of all time is definitely Harakiri. black and white is still super in-style.’
Hinata snickers into his hand. “What, Harakiri? Is he an old man?” He sticks the note in the binder in his bag with all the others and rips off a blank sheet of paper. ‘that’s way too boring! if you ever find out who i am, i’m going to make you watch better movies.’ He finishes the ‘s’ with a flourish and quickly pins up the note.
He’s going to be late to class, and if he gets one more markup, he’ll be in serious trouble. Then again, he’s probably already out of time and—
Kageyama passes by so suddenly that Hinata’s thoughts smack against his brain like bouncy-balls. He flattens himself against the wall quicker than if a magnetic force had pulled him there.
Kageyama strides over to the message board with purpose, nearly giving Hinata a heart attack when he unpins the note. When he starts looking around suspiciously, Hinata quickly sprints off before he can be caught at the scene of the crime.
Yes, he’ll fess up eventually—but today is definitely not that day.
* * * * *
“You almost talked to him?” Yachi throws up her hands in mild exasperation, nearly whacking Yamaguchi in the face with her chopsticks. “Hinata, you’ve had a crush on him since forever, and he obviously likes you if he keeps writing back! You should definitely go for it.”
“She’s right,” Yamaguchi agrees. “You guys definitely have chemistry. You’ve been talking for what, three or four months now?”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t know it’s a guy behind it,” Hinata murmurs dejectedly. “He doesn’t know it’s me… What if he’s really freaked out?”
“If he’s freaked out, then he isn’t worth your time,” Yachi says firmly. “Don’t worry: we’ll support you no matter what.”
It doesn’t really make him feel all that better. If Kageyama finds out it’s him, and he isn’t happy… Hinata knows it’ll break him. He’s been holding onto this tiny sliver of hope ever since they started talking—if he can even call it ‘talking’—that Kageyama might like him back if he takes the time to reply to him everyday… but what if he doesn’t?
The bell rings, and Hinata feels his spirits lift: he’ll check the message board on his way back to class. Kageyama must’ve posted a reply already if he saw the note earlier in the morning. He skips off down the hallway after waving goodbye to the others, woes temporarily forgotten: it’s better to think positive.
He looks forward to this every day: their little conversations. After so long, it feels like they’ve become something close to friends.
As he thought, Kageyama’s note is pinned to the board in place of his. Hinata glances around before pulling it down, palms growing sweaty as he reads it over. ‘you could just tell me who you are and stop dodging around. i’m not that unapproachable, am I?’
Hinata stuffs the note deep in his bag and rushes off to his next class, but the words haunt him. He used to think Kageyama was unapproachable, but it’s hard to think that after getting to know him. He’s got a sweet and funny side that’s invisible to outsiders, and he can be surprisingly thoughtful.
Would it really be so bad to confess? Like Yachi said, Kageyama must have some feelings for him if he keeps writing back. Hinata knows he needs to man up and just… do it. It’s not like they don’t know each other at all: Hinata is on the soccer team, so they’ve interacted at sports meets before, and during PE class. It wouldn’t be uncommon to start up a conversation with him.
He can’t stand living in limbo for another day… It would be better to be rejected than to be haunted by false hopes. If he really loves him, he should have faith in Kageyama as a person.
I’ll do it tomorrow, Hinata decides hesitantly. I’ll post a note and ask him to meet up… and then I’ll confess for real.
“Hinata-kun, come back to earth. Somebody please get his attention.”
”Present— I… I mean… sorry!”
* * * * *
“Cleanup duty again,” Hinata grumbles dejectedly, peering through the window at the darkening sky. “It takes so long that it’ll be dark when I go home… I have to stop being late to class.”
By the time he’s finished, the sun has nearly sunk below the horizon and the only remaining students are those with club activities. Hinata slumps by them all tiredly, pausing at the message board. He digs the note he wrote during class out of his bag and reaches for a thumbtack—and nearly goes into cardiac arrest when his hand collides with someone else’s.
Fate must really hate him, because it’s none other than Kageyama freaking Tobio that’s just caught him in the act of note-posting. They’re making direct eye-contact now: it’s too late to run.
The only thing Hinata can think to do is chuck the paper as far away as he can—but of course, it merely flutters for half a second before dropping between them face-up: the last piece of incriminating evidence.
Hinata lunges for it, but Kageyama deftly snatches it up first, holding it over his head.
“I… I was just posting that up for a friend!” he stammers nervously. “A friend!” So much for having courage.
“Oh, is that so?” Kageyama studies him skeptically, and Hinata quickly averts his gaze. “Does this ‘friend’ happen to have terrible taste in movies?”
“Totoro is not a terrible movie!” Hinata snaps reflexively, covering his mouth as soon as the words spew out. “I… I mean, that is, um, assuming that’s the movie you’re referring to…” he trails off lamely.
Kageyama obviously doesn’t buy it for a second. “It’s you, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” Hinata blurts, refusing to meet his gaze. “Who… who do you mean?”
Kageyama rolls his eyes. “‘I mean yeah, I think I love you?’” he quotes. “‘Um wow, I love you?’”
“Stop!” Hinata begs, quickly clamping a hand over his mouth. “Okay, okay… Just please stop.”
As soon as he lowers his hand, Kageyama grabs his wrist. “I knew it was you! You were here earlier, weren’t you? You disappeared before I could catch you.”
“Ah, well…” Hinata bites his lip. “I wasn’t really… ready to meet you yet?”
“Why not?” Kageyama asks, so earnestly that it makes him feel a little guilty. “Am I actually unapproachable?”
“No, I just thought you would hate me!” Hinata exclaims, before he can chicken out. “I’m… I’m a guy, and I obviously didn’t think you would react well…”
Kageyama sighs in a way that makes him nervous. “You really are a dumbass, huh? I knew you were a guy from the start, idiot. What kind of girl has handwriting like this?” He gestures at the note as evidence. “It’s even messier than mine.”
“You… you seriously knew?” Hinata stammers in disbelief. “But you… you didn’t try to find me on your own?”
“‘If you try to find me, I’ll seriously slap you,’” Kageyama drones. “You just said that to me last week.”
“And you said, ‘Go ahead and try it,’” Hinata replies irritably. “I thought you would put some serious effort in instead of just askingover and over again! I was secretly sorta hoping you would catch on, because I couldn’t gather up enough courage to ask to meet up.”
“What about this, then?” Kageyama flicks the note. “‘If you really want to meet me, let’s meet up at the gates after school today,’” he reads aloud. “That sounds pretty courageous.”
“Stop quoting me!” Hinata complains, snatching the note from his hand. “This isn’t how any of this was supposed to go…”
“I’m sorry,” Kageyama says hesitantly. “Can we just start over?” He holds out a hand awkwardly. “I’m Kageyama Tobio. I mean, you obviously know that, but… yeah. This is metaphorical.”
After a moment, Hinata carefully shakes his hand, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach. “Hinata Shouyou.”
“It’s nice to properly meet you.” Kageyama holds his hand for a second too long. “Should we maybe… go somewhere? Together?” He’s blushing, and it makes Hinata want to scream. Is any of this real?
“Yeah…” It’s a struggle to hold back the overjoyed smile that wants to envelop his face. “That would be really nice.”
“Let’s grab ramen,” Kageyama suggests as they move down the hall. “You said that was your favorite, right?”
“You really remembered that?”
“Obviously.” Kageyama lightly bumps against his shoulder. “I remember everything you say—for example, ‘I think I love you? Um wow, I love you?’”
“Stop bringing that up!”